Vanessa Marano Previews ‘Switched at Birth’ Romance

Vanessa Marano plays Bay, the artsy, rebellious rich girl on “Switched at Birth.” Between her complicated relationship with Daphne (Katie LeClerc), the teen that was raised by her biological parents thanks to a hospital mix up, her deaf boyfriend Emmett (Sean Berdy) and the arrival of her biological father Angelo (Gilles Marini), Bay has a lot on her plate this season. Marano reveals whether Bay and Daphne will ever become friends, and just how hot Bay’s relationship with Emmett will get this season.

How is Bay and Daphne’s relationship going to evolve this season?
Bay and Daphne probably have my favorite relationship on the show. It’s very complicated. They don’t really like each other. They’re jealous of each other. They’re in a weird rivalry with each other. Their personalities are completely different. At the same time, they’re the only two people in the entire world who actually understand what the other is going through. They admire each other and they actually, at the end of this season, really find a love and a common ground. That being said, it’s hard because they feel like they are stealing each other’s lives. As much as they want to get along with each other, something’s always stopping them.

Bay has mixed feelings about her biological father, Angelo. How will her opinion change as she gets to know him?
Bay’s really the only one rooting for Angelo. Daphne has her guard up. Regina (Constance Marie) has her guard up. The Kennishes definitely have their guard up. Bay is the only one who really wants him to be a good guy. She’s looking to him for what she didn’t get from John (D.W. Moffett) and what she didn’t get from Regina: someone who is going to choose her over Daphne. As selfish as it sounds, she wants somebody who’s just like, “You’re my daughter and I’m not sharing you with her.” That being said, I don’t think he holds up to expectations for her at all, which I think actually builds her relationship with Daphne. They both are getting hurt by him.

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Will there be more romance for Bay and Emmett? Sean Berdy has turned out to be the show’s heartthrob.
His eyes are so blue. He has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen. You kind of hate him because, it’s like, “Your eyes are prettier than my eyes.” I’ve been an actress for a while, so I’ve had to do the teenage love story a lot, but I’ve never had to do it in sign language. Emmett and Bay are in a relationship now, and, I think as we all know, when you’re in a relationship dating goes out the window. But they definitely have a lot of alone time. The virginity question pops up there. So that’s kind of where the season is heading. When will she? Won’t she? Has he? Will he?

Is there any chance that Daphne and Bay will end up in a full on physical fight?
I would love that so much. I would love a beat down. I really want Bay and Daphne to get into a sign language fight, though. Daphne would have such an advantage, but that’s why I want it to happen, because then I get to play “I’m signing and I’m mad and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but I’m trying to fight with you.”

You used to play Eden on “The Young & the Restless.” How do you feel about the role being recast after you left?
I was a recast, too. There was another Eden before me. This is going to sound awful, but it’s kind of cool because I was the second Eden and there’s a third Eden. That’s like soap opera hall of fame almost. Soap operas have been going on for 30 years. Once you’ve been on a soap opera you can be like, “I was on a soap and I played the second version of this person.” I’m talking to Lea Thompson and she’s talking about being in “Back to the Future” and Eric Stoltz and Michael J. Fox and I’m like, “Well I was the second Eden on “The Young & the Restless.”